Can you recommend some titles that will keep him happy for a little while?

(I know about Cory Doctorow, etc).

As a general rule, I'm willing to spend no more than $5 for a title -- more or less.

Better yet would be a blog about YA or young sci fi fiction. The problem -- and don't we all know it -- is that many of the "classic" authors have only recently been converted into ebooks, most of whom are selling at 9$ and up... Which is silly, because older paperbacks of these titles still are around for 2 or 3 dollars.

Is he in Houston where you are? The Houston area library has about 11,000 ebook titles (didn't check to see what they have) for checkout in Adobe DRM'd ePub which will work with his Nook. http://hadc.lib.overdrive.com

If he's not in Houston, check his local library to see if they offer ebooks.

Just a couple of thoughts.. if he doesn't mind older Science Fiction, a large part of H. Beam Piper's Science Fiction is in the Public Domain. Also, for newer SF, make sure you check out the Baen Free Library and the fifth imperium (not all of the books are appropriate for a 12 year old, so you might want to review them first). Also, Ender's Game seems to be popular with a lot of people who have read the Hunger Games and B&N sell it for $6... so that should be pretty standard.

How about some not as well-known in the general public books? Most of the middle school and high school kids I know are reading the Hunger Games either for school reports or on their own. I've read some of the below a long while ago or saw posts about them on MR. I don't remember what the sex/violence content is (if any) in any of these. Jeffrey Carver is a well-known author also. These books may be at other sites but I listed mostly those that are free at feedbooks and smashwords for you to check them out. Most of the below authors have been on MR. Some may have the freebies on their own sites with updated versions.

I would suggest 'The Witches of Karres' by James Schmitz at Baen. A lot of his books are free at Baen, and while this one is $5, it is one of my all-time favorite sci-fi novels. It is from the 1960s and in some regards feels dated, but it is still a magical read. The people at Baen love it so much, they have done two sequels using their stable of writer/editors, neither of which hold a candle to the original. And it is entirely appropriate for a 12-year-old, no foul language and no sex. It is simply fun.

I'll throw out two more titles. First, Robert Heinlein's Tunnel in the Sky (which is an expensive 7.99 ebook, drats). (promotion edited).

Sorry, I just thought of another amazing title and author. Barry Yourgrau writes these amazing and fantastic short stories, some of which are targeted at teens. All the collections are basically the same, although a few have a bit of sexual content.

For young teens I recommend Barry Yourgrau who writes experimental surreal flash fiction, sometimes with a grotesque twist. Some of his stuff is more for adults (Man Jumps out of an airplane, sadness of sex), but his other titles (especially The Nasty Book) are especially for young boys (with lots of Adams Family kind of humor).

Does anyone know whether or not the William Campbell Gault and Jim Kjelgaard books are in the public domain or are available as ebooks? Those would be good for a 12 year old. Tunnel in the Sky is certainly one of my favorites